The Golden Compass

His Dark Materials, Book 1

By: Philip Pullman

Narrated by: Philip Pullman, Joanna Wyatt, Rupert Degas, Alison Dowling, Douglas Blackwell, Jill Shilling, Stephen Thorne, Sean Barrett, Garrick Hagon, John O'Connor, Susan Sheridan, full cast

Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

HIS DARK MATERIALS IS NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SERIES STARRING DAFNE KEEN, RUTH WILSON, ANDREW SCOTT, AND LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA!

The modern fantasy classic that Entertainment Weekly named an “All-Time Greatest Novel” and Newsweek hailed as a “Top 100 Book of All Time.” Philip Pullman takes listeners to a world where humans have animal familiars and where parallel universes are within reach.

Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal—including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.

Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want.

But what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other...

A masterwork of storytelling and suspense, Philip Pullman's award-winning The Golden Compass is the first in the His Dark Materials series, which continues with The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

A #1 New York Times Bestseller

Winner of the Guardian Prize for Children's Fiction

Published in 40 Countries

"Arguably the best juvenile fantasy novel of the past twenty years."—The Washington Post

"Very grand indeed."—The New York Times

"Pullman is quite possibly a genius."—Newsweek

Don't miss Philip Pullman's epic new trilogy set in the world of His Dark Materials!

** THE BOOK OF DUST **

La Belle Sauvage

The Secret Commonwealth

Listen to the rest of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series.

©1995 Philip Pullman (P)1999 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"As always, Pullman is a master at combining impeccable characterizations and seamless plotting, maintaining a crackling pace to create scene upon scene of almost unbearable tension. This glittering gem will leave readers of all ages eagerly awaiting the next installment of Lyra’s adventures.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred

“Extraordinary storytelling at its very best.”—The Detroit Free Press

“Superb . . . all-stops-out thrilling.”—The Washington Post

loved it!

I struggled at first to find an audio book with a voice that I enjoyed. I am probably being overly sensitive, but some of the voice actors for books are so over the top or almost whiney, some are hard to even understand. I loved that this audio book had a variety of voice actors and that they did such a great job. They made this story that much more special!

I couldn't stop listening

such a fun story that really draws you in. loved the narrative and the different voices for each character! probably the best book I've listened too yet. I can't wait to start the next one. the story really flowed and always kept me at the edge of my seat. the ending is so suspenseful and keeps you on your toes wanting more. highly recommend!

Great cast/voice acting on this!

I usually don’t write reviews because most audible books I’ve listened to are so so but this performance is really enjoyable.

I loved it

For me "The Golden Compass" it was a great piece of fantasy. I really enjoyed the fact that actors read the story. The different character voices were all superbly acted. I so was engaged through out the whole story.

This may be simple but if I do not want a story to end it is a good one for me and I did not want it to end. I and look forward to the rest of series.

Full cast

I wasn't sure I liked the book being read in many different voices at the beginning, but as the story progressed I loved it. Great performances.

The gold standard for audiobooks

Would you listen to The Golden Compass again? Why?

This was the first audiobook I had ever purchased several years ago. It remains the finest audiobook I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. The cast is, in my opinion, perfect. The narrator - being the author himself - has a wonderful voice and draw the listener in easily. I have listened to this book many times. I believe I know it off by heart now haha. The only negative I have found in these audiobooks is that I believe they changed the narrator of Will's voice in the following books. It is a bit jarring if you listen to them all in succession. I actually prefer the second narrator to the first however, it did bother my ears a bit at first. It felt much as it did when Dumbledore was changed in the Harry Potter films. Obviously, it could not be helped but I found it off putting at first simply because he was different. Similarly, the change in voice was not bad, certainly not enough to keep me from listening to the books again and again.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Golden Compass?

The entire book enchanted me and enthrall end me. Pullman is a fine author and the world he created was interesting and absorbing. He made me think of how I view religion and God and many other wonderful things in this world. There was no one specific moment per se. However, the whole book itself is memorable.

Which scene was your favorite?

SPOILER ALERT!!!






I love the imagery of the scene where Lyra and Will are walking with dead and are leading past the chasm which is illuminated by dust. The scene was so well written that I was on tenterhooks and actually had to stop the audiobook and read my hardcopy since I read much, much faster on my own. I had to know what happened to them. My pulse was racing and my palms were damp until I had satisfied my curiosity. I am blessed with a vivid imagination and most of the time I had little trouble picturing the scenes in my head since their "stage" was set so well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Would that I could have crammed more hours into my day to listen to the whole of the series in one go! As it is I had to resort to listening and reading to finish the book when my children were asleep so it took longer than it could have.

Any additional comments?

SOMEWHAT SPOILER ALERT!!




Ignore all of the nonsense "religious" people bring to bear when they castigate this book. No one "kills God" in the book nor are there any "demonic" proceedings within. I had to listen to one young man- my waiter, of all people - tell me what he thought of the book when he saw what I was reading. He admitted that he had not read it and would not because the book was "against religion" and God. The only part of his ridiculous ramblings I paid any mind to was the "I haven't read it" part. Honestly, how can anyone hold forth an opinion on a book they've not read? To blindly follow the opinion of someone who very obviously mistook a great number of issues in the book was, I felt, ludicrous. I did not engage him further by disputing his claims as it was not my business to correct or confirm his ignorance however, I will say this... God does not die in this book. An angel presenting himself as God dies. He is set free from his..ahem.. mortal coil, by the children who are trying to help him. He was obviously not actually God. It was quite clear in the book and was apparently misread or misinterpreted by those who did not read the book well enough. I also did not feel there was any anti Christian message within the book either. I got the sense that Pullman is against organized religion of any kind due to its flaws and shortcomings. He does seem to encourage faith however. His book brought about many lively discussions betwixt my Catholic- raised husband and my Unitarian- raised self. Now I shall step off my soap box after my novel haha. If one can let go of any preconceived notions about the nature of this book and enjoy it for the great story it is they will find it an enjoyable and engrossing read/listen.

Great book!

Fantastic story! Read the book, listen to it, and repeat.
Great for children and adults. A must read for sure.

Spellbound!

I was hooked on this book and the story line!
I loved it and was glad to see that audible has the other series of books too!

Good story

I loved the story. I would recommend this to young readers, it’s simple to follow. The voice actors were great. The narrator volume was a little low I wished the books volume was a little louder during a busy commute it was hard to hear the book sometimes.

A modern classic, with issues

For me, it's a strange book. I love most of the concepts, but not the characters. The main character is fine, but loved by everyone and "the chosen one" for no good reason. She's kind of a blank slate. Plus, nearly all the other characters are evil adults and not very interesting. It's a strange combination.